Gundam Build Fighters Try

Episode 13

Is it just me or is anyone else having a hard time keeping all these Gundam Build Fighters Try opponents straight? The first season made it easy, focusing on singular opponents. Now that there's three people per team, it's a bit trickier to remember them all.

Regardless, this episode's slough of unfamiliar faces made for a suspenseful battle royale. Once again, Gundam Build Fighters Try smooths over any character difficulties with expertly executed mecha battles that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Transitioning to Gunpla Battle Camp has had its pros and cons for the show's direction. On the one hand, there are way too many characters that have barely been introduced. I'm dying to know all about Sekai's mysterious white-haired lady friend. Nobody has mentioned or interacted with the triplets. There's a couple other teams and opponents and all I know about them is that they're allegedly stronger than our heroes. It's hard for me to care about them very much yet, which is a problem. I liked the first Build Fighters' auxiliary characters instantly, from Fellini to Kirara to Nils Nilson.

On the other hand, camp has made battle sequences ten times better. When there's a tournament going on, you know that nine times out of ten, our heroes are going to win. The question of “How are they going to win?” isn't as engaging as “Will they?” At camp, where every opponent is top notch or unknown, every battle is a mystery. We've got a lot of new Gunpla entering the fold and it's always cool to see their varied techniques.

Watch any given battle and you'll see where the money goes in this show. This episode in particular had models so blended and new that I couldn't actually pinpoint what inspired them. (I thought Wilfrid Kijima's mech might be Exia-inspired but the wiki page says no). Add a slough of weapons and special attacks that are getting more powerful all the time, and you'll discover that no two Gunpla battles are ever alike. By the way, weren't those “Gunpla scouters” the triplets were monitoring battles with so very cheesy and Dragon Ball Z?

Fumina's crush on Sekai became more obvious in a big way this episode, and it came with a lot of funny faces. Sekai is pretty dense, but as the main character, he has no trouble getting girls to adore him. There have been warning signs prior, but this was the episode that convinced me that Sekai is the true main character out of this three-lead show. He's the ace, the most passionate battler, and the one Fumina and Yuuma have conversations about even when he's off screen. However, I was really happy to discover that Fumina is redoing her Gunpla to play to her own strengths instead of Sekai's and Yuuma's. While a lot of media would carelessly designate the girl on the team to the support role, Fumina has clear agency. Her decision to take a more active role fits with what we know of her so far.

Next episode is poised to introduce even more opponents, and I don't know how many more new faces I can handle! Here's hoping we start to learn who's who on a less superficial level.

Rating: B

Gundam Build Fighters Try is currently streaming on Gundam.info.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.